Row
brings gurdwara panel functioning to haltAmritsar, August 21Functioning of the Sikh Gurdwara
Judicial Commission virtually came to a standstill following the
adjournment of all cases listed for two days (today and tomorrow) as a
‘tactical move’ by the old panel. New panel comprising Mr Ajwant
Sing Mann and Mr Amrik Singh Randhawa was not allowed to function from
despite certified copies of the Punjab and Haryana High Court having
been supplied.

Brar
files plea in High CourtChandigarh, August 21Adding a twist to the on-going
controversy, “Chairman of the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission” Man
Mohan Singh Brar today submitted a representation to the Punjab and
Haryana High Court “for unearthing the conspiracy at the district and
state level in not allowing the lawful members to perform their
functions which were judicial in nature”.

Notice
issued on return of Sikh manuscriptsChandigarh, August 21Acting on a petition seeking
directions for the return of “all manuscripts, religious books, and
other articles” allegedly removed during “Operation Bluestar”
from the Sikh Reference Library at Golden Temple in Amritsar, a
Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued
notice of motion to the state of Punjab and other respondents.

10
supporters of Vinod Khanna, SAD booked Naushehra Pattan
(Gurdaspur) August 21The Gurdaspur police has
registered a case against 10 supporters of Vinod Khanna and workers of
the SAD-BJP combine for “rioting” and “stoning”and
“injuring” policemen during a rally of Vinod Khanna yesterday.

MC
covering up fund misuse?Row over Town Hall
beautificationAmritsar, August 21The beautification of Town Hall
heritage building inaugurated on the eve of Independence Day has run
into a controversy over fund utilisation.

Dal
Khalsa sets up organisational wingChandigarh, August 21The Dal Khalsa today constituted
its organisational body with many new faces with an aim to “achieve
sovereign self-rule for Sikh people.” The body has 11 other members
on the executive committee.

Bhattal
caseCong
MP appears on behalf of PunjabChandigarh, August 21A top criminal lawyer and
Congress MP, Mr R.K. Anand, today appeared on behalf of Punjab in a
corruption case against state Agriculture Minister, Ms Rajinder Kaur
Bhattal, giving rise to a speculation that it was a legal intervention
by the Congress high command to stop the feud between the state Chief
Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh and Ms Bhattal.

Minorities
panel to take up case of Indian prisonerAmritsar, August 21The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and
the National Commission for Minorities will take up the issue of the
death sentence awarded to the an Indian prisoner, Sarabjit Singh,
languishing in a Pakistan jail under mistaken identity, with the
Centres.

Poor
families to get Rs 63 lakhFatehgarh Sahib, August
21The district administration has
completed the process of identifying families living below the poverty
line in the district and the Social Welfare Department would
distribute Rs 63 lakh to such families for constructing their own
houses, said Mr S.K. Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner, while addressing
the gathering at the valedictory function organised by the department
on the completion of one-year training in sewing, here today.

PRTC
seeks hike in faresPatiala, August 21The Pepsu Road Transport
Corporation (PRTC) has given a representation to the state government
seeking a hike of 6 paise in the fares keeping in view the
introduction of special road tax and the earlier hike in diesel
prices.

Club
under fire for I-Day bashAbohar, August 21The management of the Abohar club
has come under fire from members for allowing whiskey and free meals
to be served and dancers to perform on Independence Day. Some national
Hindi dailies had prominently carried stories on the way the club had
“paid homage” to heroes of the freedom struggle.

Protesters
seek arrest of murder accusedSangrur, August 21Hundreds of protesters, led by
former Dhuri MLA Dhanwant Singh, held a rally at Triveni Chowk in
Dhuri near here today. They were demanding the arrest of the two
remaining accused — Surinder Kumar Changli and Inderjit Singh —
allegedly involved in the murder of Bhalinder Singh (32), nephew of Mr
Dhanwant Singh, at his native Manwala village on August 15.

Nabard
aid for widening river bedsPatiala, August 21Punjab Finance Minister Lal Singh
today said the work on the widening of various river beds in the
district and strengthening of their banks would be undertaken before
the next monsoon season following the approval of a Rs 33-crore scheme
by Nabard.

Farmers
lay siege to Xen’s officeSangrur, August 21A large number of farmers under
the leadership of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), today reportedly
laid siege to the office of the Xen, PSEB (Rural), at Sunam. They
blocked the Sunam-Jakhal road/for about two hours protest against
electricity disconnections on account of non-payment of bills.

High
CourtDC
to pay moneyChandigarh, August 21Three years after a government
contractor constructed a stage for the Independence Day celebrations,
a Division Bench of the high court today directed Fatehgarh Sahib’s
Deputy Commissioner and other respondents to pay Rs 45,000 to the
petitioner within two months.

Junior
engineers up in arms over promotionsAmritsar, August 21Junior engineers in the
Irrigation Department are up in arms against the non-implementation of
the recommendations of the Draft Rules Committee set up by former
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to frame rules for the promotions
of diploma-holding junior engineers of the department.

DGP
okays new transfer policy for field staffChandigarh, August 21A shake-up in the Punjab Police,
is on the cards with the Director-General of Police, Mr A.A. Siddiqui,
clearing a new transfer policy for the field staff today.

Disciple
held for cheating Baba Santa SinghBathinda, August 21The Talwandi Sabo police has
arrested Kamal Kishore, alias Kamal Singh, who allegedly cheated Baba
Santa Singh, head of the Budha Dal, a Nihang sect, and the Rajasthan
Government by fabricating some documents in connection with the
possession of two pieces of land in Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar
districts of Rajasthan belonging to the Budha Dal.

Man
booked on rape chargeAmritsar, August 21A girl was allegedly abducted and
raped by a person a few days ago. A sister and brother-in-law of the
suspect also helped him allegedly. A case was registered at the Sadar
police station here yesterday.

Junior
Engineer held on bribe chargeBathinda, August 21Mr Om Parkash Arora, junior
engineer (JE) with the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), Golewala,
in Ferozepore district, was caught today while he was allegedly
accepting a bribe of Rs 1,800 from Mr Jagmohan Singh, a resident of
Rukna Begu village (Ferozepore) for replacing a damaged transformer to
supply power to his tubewell motor.

Students protest against
PTU decisionRopar, August 21Students of various engineering colleges located in the area today staged a dharna outside their respective colleges to protest against the Punjab Technical University (PTU) decision of disallowing the students who had not totally cleared the first semester to appear in the fifth semester examination. Similarly, the students who had not totally cleared the second semester would be not allowed to appear in the sixth semester.